Reviewed by: Liv George
We asked, you decided: The winner of the 2024 Bama Beer Bracket is…
The Cahaba Blonde!
The Cahaba Blonde is a staple for bars and restaurants not just in Birmingham but across the state. The brewery describes its most popular beer as light-bodied with just enough malt and hop to keep your interest.
“Our American Blonde Ale is brewed with an unmistakable blend of European malts and hops, resulting in a clean finish… This beer pairs well with warm Alabama summer days and has become a local favorite for the pool, beach, or a lazy afternoon floating down the Cahaba River.”
~ Cahaba Brewing Company
The path to a title
Everyone loves a good tournament, especially during the months of March and April. Most of this state was entrenched in the actual basketball for longer than usual but we wanted to present a new tournament those that don’t like basketball, needed a break from basketball or just really like craft beer.
That led us to create the 2024 Bama Beer Bracket. We started with 32 beers representing 22 different breweries from across the state and asked you to narrow it down to just one champion. The championship round happened over the weekend.
The Cahaba Blonde was officially a #2 seed in our bracket but pretty much acted like a top seed from the first round. Here are how the voting percentages for the Blonde in each round:
- Round 1: 82% over Rocket Republic’s Vapor Trail
- Sweet 16: 73% over Yellowhammer’s T-Minus
- Elite 8: 59% over Avondale’s Sour Pash
- Final 4: 65% over Good People’s Snake Handler
That run set up the all-Birmingham championship which gave the Blonde its biggest scare of the tournament. It got plenty of the early vote, jumping above 70 percent after just a couple of hours. But TrimTab’s Paradise Now starting cutting into lead. The final tally:
- Cahaba Blonde – 163 votes (52%)
- TrimTab Paradise Now -151 votes (48%)
What’s next
We asked people to go to our Instagram stories to vote for each round and we got a great response! Breweries got into the spirit of competition and posted the matchups to their own pages, making sure their fans got involved.
But now, we already have our eyes on the 2025 bracket and we want to hear from you on how to make it better! Should we expand to 64 beers? What beers did we miss in this year’s tournament? Who can dethrone the Cahaba Blonde?
Let us know what you want to see! Tag The Bama Buzz on Instagram, X, Facebook + LinkedIn or email me directly at caleb@thebamabuzz.com!
